Not exactly.
We didn’t have a bench of strong folks to the right of Romney the way we do now with Cruz, Walker, Paul.
Also, the “Romney is the only one who can win” and “Romney is inevitable” drumbeat was incessant from the time he announced until the primaries were over.
I definitely agree on your last sentence. If we settle on one quickly, that person will win the nomination handily.
We did have some to the right of Romney, but not one had all the attributes needed. For example, by the time the primaries arrived the survivors of the media (anti-conservative) and Romney ($$$) onslaught were Santorum the social conservative, Grinrich the fiscal conservative, Paul the libertarian, and Romney the "moderate" establishment candidate.
Romney, of course, couldn't survive the final debates, the terrible media exposure and the Obama/Democrat money and fraud tsunami. The difference this time is that Cruz has all the attributes and won't let that happen and I suspect some of the others (Walker/Rubio) won't let themselves get sandbagged either by Bush or the media. I think (and hope) Paul, like his father, will eventually self-destruct.